Tottenham Hotspur put in a stellar display to hand Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City their first loss of the season.
It was a victory that raised questions about City’s defence and once again proved how competitive the English League is. The title race was blown wide open. Just when City were beginning to look like they’d be waltzing their way to the title with dominating performances in over the course of the first month and a half of the season, Pochettino’s men gave something of a reality check. Here are 5 talking points from the Spur’s superb 2-0 victory over City.
A New Dawn
Son Heung-min is finally living up to his potential. Following last season’s £22 million transfer from Bayern Leverkusen, much was expected from the South Korean attacker, but things didn’t go according to plan for the 24-year-old. Spurs had a fantastic season despite having an implosion at the very end, giving up their second place position to Arsenal after missing out on the title to Leicester. There were rumours of the former Hamburg SV man moving away from White Hart Lane, but the Londoners reportedly refused to let him go. That decision has obviously paid off, with Harry Kane getting injured at the very start of this season. And Son has clearly grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
The striker has been in stellar form, scoring 5 goals in 6 appearances in all competitions and providing 2 assists, and essentially keeping Victor Janssen out of the squad. Despite not getting a goal against City, his creativity and build-up play harassed the visitors’ defenders and made life extremely difficult for them with his pace and direct runs. He also set up the assist for Delle Alli’s goal with a crisp through ball, and was eventually substituted to a standing ovation from the Spurs’ fans. His 42 appearances last term came mostly on the wings and through substitute appearances, but now he seems to have settled in well. Son has clearly been one of the shining lights of the season so far for Pochettino’s men and should he continue that good form post the arrival of Harry Kane, it may be the dawn of a new striking partnership in England’s top flight.
A ‘Victorious’ Transfer
That is exactly what Victor Wanyama is beginning to look like. He put in his finest performance in a Spurs shirt against Manchester City, making numerous interceptions, tackles and keeping the likes of Silva and Fernando at bay with his pressing style of play. He was a constant presence across midfield and acted as their destroyer in the middle of the park, almost never giving the City midfield a chance to build their attacks. His ability to win the ball and transition from defence to attack allowed Spurs to keep unleashing wave after wave of attacks on the hapless City back four.
In this 4-2-4-1 formation, Wanyama was deployed in front of the central defenders and behind Delle Alli and Christian Eriksen. This allowed the latter duo to attack more and reduced their defensive responsibilities. Eriksen was allowed to bombard forward and drift towards the side as he liked, and allowed him to pull all the strings for Spurs. Delle Alli got his goal after making a run from deep in midfield during a Spurs counter attack which he was allowed to do during much of the game. Wanyama’s presence has helped provide a feeling of solidity and energy in the Spurs’ midfield, something that wasn’t present before. Against City, the 25-year-old Kenyan showed exactly why Mauricio Pochettino wanted him back in his squad after their time together at Southampton and what a bargain his reported 11 million pound transfer fee is turning out to be.
Guardiola’s Defensive Woes
The likes of Aguero, De Bruyne, Sterling, Nolito and Iheanacho had been in stellar form for Guardiola from the very start of the season, but the same can’t be said about their back four. With Kompany’s continued absence, Aleksander Kolarov, Pablo Zabaleta and John Stones have failed to live up to the same kind of standards as City’s attack. Kolarov, despite his great performances as a makeshift center back, scored a horrible own goal to get Spurs underway. Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones didn’t have the finest of games and Pablo Zabaleta was run ragged by Danny Rose and Erik Lamela.
When compared with the likes of Pique, Alves at Barcelona and Boateng, Lahm and Alaba at Bayern, City’s current crop of defenders are not quite up there with them in terms of quality. Kolarov and Zabaleta have a collective age of 61 and don’t have the legs and energy to keep up with the best wingers of the day while making marauding runs up front at the same time. Having failed to keep clean sheets against Sunderland, West Ham, Swansea and most recently a shock 3-3 against Celtic in the Champions League, it is likely Guardiola will try and revamp his defence with some new signings and address this issue sooner rather than later. The English league is far more competitive than in Spain and Germany, and if City want to dominate throughout the season and avoid slip ups, a world class back line will be absolutely necessary.
Tottenham For The Title, Again
As the only team who are yet to suffer defeat in the Premier League, Spurs are out with a vengeance in this campaign. Their defeats toward the end of the campaign cost them dearly last season. If conceding the title to Leicester City after a draw against Chelsea wasn’t bad enough, they conceded their second place to fierce rivals Arsenal on the final day of the season. It was a young team that was quietly going about their business, playing stellar football throughout the season and being led by a visionary manager. They will have emerged from that heart-break as a stronger and more mature side. They would have learnt from those mistakes and with reinforcements like Wanyama, Sissoko and Victor Jansen in the squad, they are sure to put up a strong challenge for the title. This victory was no fluke – it was a comprehensive, convincing display where they dominated Man City from start to finish. This victory is a statement of intent from Pochettino and his men that they’re here to challenge for the title and they won’t take any prisoners along the way.
City Will Be Back, Stronger
Tottenham won the game 2-0, Manchester City’s first defeat of the season. / AFP
Tottenham’s victory, as convincing as it was, is by no means the beginning of the end of City’s title hopes. They are still at the top of the table, just with a shorter lead. Guardiola isn’t one to take defeats lightly, having suffered them so few over the course of his stellar managerial career. This was their first loss of the season and not something that is expected to be a constant recurrence. The international break comes at a perfect time for Guardiola to assess his team’s faults and work on them. Out of all the title contenders for the the league, City are still the favourites and didn’t drop even a single point prior to this. With Kompany, Gundogan and De Bruyne’s return, things are sure to turn around at the Etihad.
